Red Robin also said that restaurant-level operating profit, as a
percent of restaurant revenue, declined to 22.2% from 23.3%. The
company said "lower margins resulted primarily from higher
food and beverage costs and, to a lesser extent, higher other
operating costs and occupancy as a percentage of sales."

"Although we
are satisfied with our top line performance through the first
half of the year, we were disappointed that our marketing efforts
in the second quarter did not produce the desired results in an
intensely competitive environment," said Steve Carley, Red Robin
Gourmet Burgers CEO.

For the full
year, Red Robin expects comparable restaurant revenue to grow by
low-single digits.

The
disappointing report from Red Robin is the latest in a series of
reports from companies highly exposed to consumer spending that
have disappointed.

Earlier on
Thursday, Wal-Mart
reported disappointing earnings and cut its outlook for the
the rest of the year. And Wal-Mart's report comes on the heels of
Wednesday's
July retail sales report that showed sales were flat over
June, the worst report in six months.